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COFXRIGHT DEFOSm 















CIRCUS ANIMALS 


































CIRCUS ANIMALS 

(How the Animals Come to the Circus) 
By 

ELIZABETH GALE 


Illustrated by 

WARNER CARR 

AND 

DONN P. CRANE 



RAND M9NALLY & COMPANY 

NEW YORK 


CHICAGO 


Copyright, 1924, by 

Rand McNally & Company 




♦ ** 

Made in U- S. A- 


©C1ASS07700 

NOV! 4 M4 


/? 




To all children who love the circus 
and the circus animals 


V 


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I » V 

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« 













Dear Children: 

When you read these tales 
About our friends in cages , 

You'll want to ask some questions 
That would puzzle even sages. 

But I love to answer hard ones , 

So step right up to me 
When you come to the circus , 

And ask me two or three. 

Don't be shy or bashful , 

But speak out clear and loud , 
Because there's always lots of noise 
When you are in a crowd. 

Hoping I may see you , then, 

When next I come to town , 

I am truly , as you know , 

Laughingly yours , 

The Clown 


# 
















✓ 





THE CONTENTS 


PAGE 

A Message from the Clown .7 

Tawny, the Tiger.11 

Little Blackie Bear.21 

Silver Tail, the Circus Horse. 29 

The Monkey and the Parrot.,44 

Snow, the Polar Bear. .55 

The Sleepy Seal.63 

The Camel. 69 

Fritz, the Little Tramp Dog .83 

Toro, the Elephant.93 

The Baby Giraffe <.103 



9 











“ 0 Mr. Lion, don’t you wish you could climb like this? ” 







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CIRCUS ANIMALS 

TAWNY, THE TIGER 

Once there was a tiger named Tawny. 
He lived in the Great Woods with the lion 
and all the other animals. But nobody 
liked him because he used to go about the 
Great Woods boasting. Tawny told every¬ 
one how clever he was and how much he 
could do. 

Every time he met the lion he would 
jump into a tree and laugh and say, “O 
Mr. Lion, see what I can do ! Don’t you 
wish you could climb like this?” 

Now of course the lion didn’t like this, 
because he can’t climb at all. He wishes 
very much that he could. 

Then every time Tawny met Bump, the 
clumsy bear, he would dance and prance 
and roll about. 


11 


12 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“O Mr. Bear,” he would say, “see 
what I can do! Don’t you wish you were 
as graceful as I?” 

Of course the bear didn’t like this, because 
he is not at all graceful. He wishes very 
much that he were. 

Every time Tawny found the boa con¬ 
strictor curled up on his sunny sleeping- 
rock he would lie down at a little distance. 
Then he would begin to sing his sweetest 
song. Did you * ever hear a tiger sing ? 
Well, it sounds just like the purring of a 
great big pussy cat. 

When Tawny had finished singing, he 
would laugh and say, ”0 Mr. Boa Con¬ 
strictor, haven’t I a lovely voice? Don’t 
you wish you could sing as well as I?” 

Of course the boa constrictor didn’t like 
that, because he can’t sing at all. He 
wishes very much that he could. 

And so it was with all the animals in 
the Great Woods. Whenever Tawny met 
them, he would brag about what he could 


TAWNY, THE TIGER 


13 



do. And he would laugh at them because 
they were not so bright as he. 

Well, everybody hoped that when Tawny 
grew older he would have more sense and 
better manners. But he didn’t. The more 
things he learned to do, the more boastful 
he became, until all the animals in the 
Great Woods tried their best to get rid of 
him. 

First the lion tried to coax him to go 
away. He told him what good things he 
could find to eat in another woods in a far 
distant country. 



14 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


But Tawny just licked his chops and said, 
“I find some pretty good things right here.” 

And he wouldn’t go a step. 

The boa constrictor thought he could 
get the tiger to leave. He told him what 
wonderful things there were to be seen in 
another woods far, far away. 

But Tawny just blinked his eyes and said, 
‘‘I like what I see right here, don’t you?” 

And he wouldn’t go a step. 

Then Bump, the bear, tried hard to drive 
him away by grumbling. He told him what 
a poor place the Great Woods was to live in. 

But Tawny just grinned and said, “It 
suits me here.” 

And he wouldn’t go a step. 

At last, since they couldn’t get rid of 
Tawny, all the animals tried to keep out 
of his way. When they would hear him 
coming, they would jump aside and hide in 
the bushes until he had passed. By and 
by Tawny began to feel that he owned the 
whole Great Woods. He thought everyone 



“ This is my path! Get out of my way! ” 



























16 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


ought to get out of his way. Sometimes 
he would run roaring down the paths just 
for the fun of seeing the other animals 
scamper. 

This went on for some time. Then, one 
day when the boastful tiger was roaming 
through the woods, whom should he meet 
but the porcupine! This animal came walk¬ 
ing slowly down the path, his heavy quills 
rattling at every step. 

Now, since the porcupine lived in a very 
lonely corner of the Great Woods, Tawny 
had never seen him before. But the minute 
he laid eyes on the porcupine he arched his 
back, snapped his teeth, and cried, “This 
is my path! Get out of my way!” 

Tawny, you see, was not at all polite, 
even to strangers. But the porcupine didn’t 
seem to mind at all. He kept right on 
walking slowly down the path. His heavy 
quills rattled at every step. 

So Tawny snarled again, “Get out of 
my way, you ugly creature!” 


TAWNY, THE TIGER 


17 



Still the porcupine 
came steadily on. Again 
and again Tawny 
shouted at him, but 
never once did the porcupine seem to hear. 

Then the tiger began to boast. He told 
about all the wonderful things he had done 
and about the still more wonderful things 
he could do if he wanted to. But, some¬ 
how, the porcupine didn’t seem one bit 
interested. He kept right on coming down 
the path. Nearer and nearer he came to 
the boastful tiger who crouched there. He 
lashed his tail and snapped his teeth and 
threatened all sorts of dreadful things if 


18 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


the porcupine should dare to take another 
step. The porcupine did dare, for his busi¬ 
ness took him along that path and he knew 
the tiger had no right to drive him out of 
it. He came right on until Tawny lifted 
his paw to strike. Then he stood still and 
every one of his strong, sharp quills rose 
straight up in the air. 

Slap! went Tawny’s heavy paw, and 
then, “ Wow-oo-oo!” cried Tawny, as he 
jumped back with his paw full of quills. 
The porcupine went right on again, walking 
slowly down the path because his business 
took him that way. In a few minutes he 
was out of sight. 

“Wow ! Oo-oo ! Hoo-oo !” roared Tawny. 
“Somebody come and help me pull these 
things out!” 

But nobody came, for all the other ani¬ 
mals in the Great Woods had heard a 
sound. Tawny had not noticed it because 
he was so busy teasing the porcupine. 
When he finally did hear the noise, it was 


TAWNY, THE TIGER 


19 


too late to hide. He could not run away 
with his paw full of porcupine quills. The 
next minute the Great Hunter came along. 
There stood Tawny, feeling foolish and not 
a bit boastful. In all the Great Hunter’s 
long hunting life he never caught any ani¬ 
mal more easily than he did the tiger. 

Of course he was kind to Tawny. When 
he got him home he pulled the quills out 
of his paw. Then he sold him to the 
Circus Man. 

When you go to the circus you will find 
him there in the cage that usually stands 
next to the Greedy Lion. But now Tawny is 
not boastful, for he has learned how foolish 
it is. He remembers, too, that, in spite of 
all the tricks he could do, it was a very small 
animal who at last got the better of him. 







: 


§1811 


. 


;• : 


You are old enough now to find your own food 






LITTLE BLACKIE BEAR 


Not so very long ago Little Blackie Bear 
lived in the Great Woods with his mother. 
Their home was in the big cave near the 
old chestnut tree. Here they lived together 
very cozily. 

One day Mother Bear said to Blackie, 
“You are old enough now to go out into 
the Great Woods and find your own food.” 

“Very well, Mother,” said Blackie. “But 
first tell me, please, what is good to eat?” 

“ Rabbits, wrens, muskrats, and men will 
do to begin with,” answered Mother Bear. 

So Little Blackie kissed his mother good- 
by and started out into the Great Woods. 
He had not gone far when he met a rabbit. 

“Ho!” said Blackie. “I believe you are 
good to eat!” 

“Oh, no!” said the rabbit. “I am 
not at all good to eat until I have run a 
mile.” 


21 


22 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“Well, start off then,” said Blackie; “it’s 
growing late. I’ve had no breakfast this 
morning and I’m getting pretty hungry.” 

So the rabbit started off, and Blackie 
after him. They ran and ran until they 
came to a little hole under a big stump. 
Quicker than you could wink, the rabbit 
slid into it and was gone. Although Little 
Blackie Bear waited a long time, the rabbit 
did not come back again. But after a while 
a little wren hopped almost under his 
nose. 

“Ho!” said Blackie, “I believe you are 
good to eat!” 

“Oh, no!” said the wren. “I am not at 
all good to eat until I have flown to the 
top of that tall tree.” 

“Very well, then,” said Blackie, “hurry 
up and fly there. It’s growing late and 
I’m hungry, for I’ve had no breakfast this 
morning.” 

So the wren flew over the tree tops and 
was gone. Although Little Blackie Bear 


LITTLE BLACKIE BEAR 


23 



waited a long, long time, she did not come 
back again. But soon he saw a muskrat 
on the edge of a near-by stream. Blackie 
ran over to him and said, “ I believe, sir, 
you are good to eat!” 

‘‘Oh, no!” said the muskrat. “I am 
not at all good to eat until I have had a 
swim.” Then he slid into the water. In 
a few moments he climbed up on top of 
his house in the middle of the stream. 
There he sat. 

After a while Blackie called out to him, 
“Well, Mr. Muskrat, aren’t you good to 
eat yet?” 



24 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“Oh, yes,” said the muskrat. “I’m good 
enough now, but it would spoil me to swim 
back.” 

“Dear me!” sighed Blackie, “it’s away 
past dinner time and I’ve had no breakfast 
yet!” 

He turned from the stream feeling very 
sad. But he had not gone far when he saw 
a man. This man had a gun over his 
shoulder, for he was a Great Hunter. 

“Ho!” said Blackie, and it sounded 
very much like a growl when he said it. 
“Ho! I believe you are good to eat!” 

“Oh, no!” said the man. “I am not at 
all good to eat until I have run a long 
way.” 

He threw down his gun, for he was a 
Great Hunter and knew just what to do. 
He started to run. Blackie ran after him. 
They ran until they came to a little house 
beside a road. The door was open, so the 
man ran right in. By the time Blackie 
got there the man had climbed up a ladder 



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26 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



and through a hole in the ceiling. He had 
pulled the ladder up after him. 

“Ho!" said Blackie, “come down here! 
You are good to eat now!" 

“Yes,” said the man, “I believe I’m 
very good to eat, but I don’t care about 
being eaten. If you are hungry, just step 
into the pantry and help yourself to what 
you find. The door, you will see, is wide 
open." 

So Blackie ran into the pantry. There 
he found pies and cakes, bread and meat, 









LITTLE BLACKIE BEAR 


27 


jam, and lots of good things. He began to 
eat at once, for he had had no breakfast 
and was nearly starved. 

Then the man sent his wife downstairs, 
for he was a Great Hunter, you remember, 
and knew just what to do. His wife shut 
and locked the pantry door so quickly that 
Blackie was a prisoner before he knew it. 
But he didn’t mind at all, for he was busy 
eating the pies and cakes and all the good 
things he had found in the pantry. When 
he could eat no more, he stretched out on 
the floor and soon was fast asleep. 

In the morning he was awake bright 
and early, but not before the Great Hunter. 
For, when Blackie opened his eyes, there 
stood the hunter looking through the pantry 
window at him. 

“Ho!” said Blackie, “shall I eat you 
this morning?” 

“Oh, no !” said the hunter. “ You’ll never 
need to trouble yourself again about look¬ 
ing for food in the Great Woods. I’m going 


28 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


to put you in a cage and sell you to the 
Circus Man, and he’ll feed you every day.” 

So the hunter put Little Blackie Bear 
into a cage and sold him to the Circus Man. 
Now, when you go to the circus, you may 
see him there. Some day perhaps you may 
get there in time to see the Circus Man 
feed him. 





SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 

When Silver Tail was a frisky colt he 
lived with Farmer Doan, and a little boy 
named Ben took care of him. Silver Tail 
was very fond of Ben, and Ben loved him 
better than he did any of the other horses. 
As soon as Silver Tail was old enough to 
29 



0 Silver Tail , are yov going to leave me?' 
























SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 31 

learn, Ben taught him things that most 
horses never know. 

He learned to say, “Good morning” — 
not the way we say it, of course, but it 
meant the same thing. When any one would 
come to him and say, “Good morning, Silver 
Tail,” he would nod his head and whinny. 
And then Ben taught him to kneel. Very 
few people teach their horses to do that. 

Silver Tail was growing up to be a 
beautiful, strong white horse. One day Mr. 
Bond, who lived about a mile away, came 
over to Farmer Doan’s. He saw Silver Tail 
running about in the pasture lot. He liked 
the horse so much that he bought him. 

Ben was just coming home from school 
when Mr. Bond led the horse out of the 
gate and down the road. The little boy 
felt so badly that he stood still and cried. 

“O Silver Tail,” he said, “are you going 
to leave me?” 

Then Silver Tail tried to break away 
from Mr. Bond and run back to Ben. But 


32 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


he couldn’t because they had put a halter 
over his head and he was held fast by 
that. 

When the man and horse reached the 
pasture where Mr. Bond meant to keep him, 
Silver Tail did not want to go in. So Mr. 
Bond whipped him. Now never before in 
his life had Silver Tail been whipped and 
he did not like it at all. So, when it grew 
dark and everyone had gone to bed, he 
quietly lifted off the top rails of the fence 
with his teeth. Then he jumped over the 
other two low rails, and ran home to 
Farmer Doan’s. 

The next morning when Ben looked out 
of his bedroom window he saw the beauti¬ 
ful white horse walking about the back 
yard. He was nipping at the apple trees 
and flowers and at everything else that 
looked as if it might taste good. Oh, how 
glad Ben was to see him ! He got into his 
clothes as fast as he could and ran down 
into the yard. He threw his arms about 


SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 


33 



was to have him back again. Then Silver 
Tail rubbed his nose against Ben’s face. 
The horse whinnied and told the boy, as 
plainly as he could, how glad he was to see 
him. 

But when Farmer Doan came down, he 
was not one single bit glad to see Silver 
Tail. He told Ben to take the horse right 
straight back to Mr. Bond even before he 
had had his breakfast. 


3 







34 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



Ben didn’t like to do it, but, of course, 
he had to do as he was told. So, very 
sadly, he led Silver Tail back to Mr. Bond’s 
and left him there. 

Mr. Bond whipped Silver Tail for run¬ 
ning away. Of course Silver Tail didn’t 
understand and didn’t like the whipping. 
So he ran away again the next day and the 
next and the next. Each time he went back 
to Farmer Doan’s to find Ben, and each 
time Farmer Doan sent him straight back 











SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 35 

to Mr. Bond and Mr. Bond whipped him 
again. 

The man never seemed to think of being 
kind to Silver Tail and of making things 
pleasant so that the horse would want to 
stay in his new home. 

But one day when Silver Tail was run¬ 
ning away he stumbled on something and 
hurt his foot. When Mr. Bond got him 
back again the horse was lame. Then Mr. 
Bond was angry. He went over to Farmer 
Doan and wanted his money back. 

“What good is a horse that I can’t keep 
in a pasture?” he said. “He takes down 
the pasture bars and lets out all the other 
horses, too. Now he has gone lame. He is 
no good at all.” 

But Farmer Doan would not give the 
money back to Mr. Bond, for now he did 
not want Silver Tail. 

“The winter is coming on,” he said, 
“and I’m not going to feed and care for 
a lame horse that can’t work.” 


36 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


When Mr. Bond tried to sell Silver Tail 
to other, people, they all said the same 
thing. Nobody wanted to take care of a 
lame horse that couldn’t work. 

At last, one day when Silver Tail ran 
away, no one came to look for him. He 
wandered up and down the road, through 
the woods, and over the hills. Nobody 
seemed to care. At first it felt good to be 
free, but after a few days he grew tired of 
it. It was lonely wandering about all by 
himself. 

He was often hungry, too, for he had 
been used to having a good meal of oats 
every day and he missed it. Of course 
grass is good, but every horse likes to have 
oats once in a while. Silver Tail’s lovely 
white coat soon grew' rough and shaggy. 
It was stained with mud. Here and there 
bunches of burs clung to it. Yes, Silver 
Tail was a tramp horse now. Few people 
would have guessed that he had -once been 
beautiful. 



He wandered up and down the road, through the woods, and over the hills 


/ 






38 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



“What a sorry-looking old horse!” 
people would say if they happened to see 
him go limping slowly down the road. 


Sometimes when he met Mr. Bond or 
Farmer Doan they would snap their whips 
or throw stones at him. He would gallop 
off limping, getting out of the way as fast 
as he could. But one cold, rainy day in 
the late fall he saw Ben going along the 
road ahead of him. The boy was on his 
way from school. Silver Tail threw up his 
head with a glad whinny 'and trotted up to 
Ben as fast as he could go. Silver Tail put 
his nose right over Ben’s shoulder. 


SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 39 

“Why, hello, Silver Tail!” cried Ben. 
“Dear old fellow!” 

How he hugged Silver Tail and patted 
him ! But he cried a little, too, when he 
saw how lame the poor horse was. 

“ O Silver Tail! What is going to become 
of you this winter?” he said. 

While Ben and Silver Tail stood there in 
the cold and rain, a carriage drove up beside 
them. Ben stopped crying. A pleasant 
looking man leaned out and said, “Well, my 
boy, what seems to be the trouble?” 

“Oh,” said Ben, “Silver Tail has no 
place to go.” 

Then he told the man how Silver Tail 
had been sold and how he had run away 
because Mr. Bond was cruel to him. He 
told the man that he had taught Silver 
Tail tricks when he was a colt. He told 
him how much he thought of the horse. 

“But I have no place to keep him,” 
said Ben. “ No one else will have the horse 
now because he has hurt his foot.” 


40 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


The man got down and looked at Silver 
Tail’s lame foot. 

“That’s nothing to worry about,” he said 
as he climbed back into his carriage. “ With 
a little care it will soon be well. I believe 
I can make use of this horse. Jump in, 
boy, and get him to follow us up to Mr. 
Bond’s.” 

But Silver Tail would not follow even 
Ben back to Mr. Bond’s house. So Ben 
had to get out of the carriage again and let 
the man go alone. He waited in the rain 
with Silver Tail. 

The man was not gone long. When he 
came driving up the road again, he was 
laughing merrily. 

“I’ve bought the horse for a song!” he 
cried, as he stopped beside Ben and Silver 
Tail. 

“Mr. Bond was glad to take anything 
for him. I am going to put Silver Tail in 
my circus.” 

For, you see, he was the Circus Man. 


Ben and Silver Tail 






































42 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



treated him so well that Silver Tail would 
not leave him for any one in the wide 
world. 

Every day when the band begins to play 
and the people come to the circus, Silver 
Tail runs out into the ring. A little girl 
rides on his back and jumps through a paper 
hoop. When she wants to get down, Silver 
Tail kneels, just as Ben taught him to do, 
and she steps off easily to the ground. 






SILVER TAIL, THE CIRCUS HORSE 43 

The Circus Man has given Ben a pass 
so that he can go to the circus without a 
ticket any time he wants to. So Ben often 
goes to see Silver Tail. The boy is glad 
to see the horse so well cared for and so 
happy. Silver Tail says he is going to 
stay with the circus just as long as the 
children come there to see him. 



THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT 

One day Myko, the little monkey, was 
climbing and jumping and swinging through 
the trees of the Great Woods. He met Mr. 
and Mrs. Squirrel scampering along and 
chattering as hard as they could chatter. 

“Hello!” he called “What are you two 
so busy about this morning?” 

“We are house hunting,” answered Mrs. 
Squirrel with a whisk of her bushy tail. 

44 



THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT 


45 


“The old tree where we used to live blew 
down yesterday in the storm. We must find 
another home before night. What are you 
doing, Myko?” 

Now, Myko was not really doing any¬ 
thing. But he always thought it great fun 
to do what he saw other people do, so he 
tried to look very serious as he said, “Why, 
I’m house hunting, too.’’ 

“ I wish you luck, then, for everyone 
needs a good place to live in,” said Mr. 
Squirrel. “Come, my dear, we must hurry 
along. Good-by, Myko.” 

And off Mr. and Mrs. Squirrel scampered. 
Myko went on climbing and jumping and 
swinging through the trees of the Great 
Woods. 

By and by he met Miss Proud Parrot 
fluffing her feathers in the sun. 

“Good morning!” Miss Parrot called 
out to him. “Where are you going this 
morning, Myko? You seem to be in a 
great hurry.” 


46 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“I am,” said Myko. ‘‘I am house 
hunting.” 

“House hunting!” cried Miss Parrot. 
“What sort of house are you hunting for?” 

Myko had not thought of that before. 
But he tried to look very wise as he swung 
from a limb by his tail. 

He answered, “ I am hunting for the 
most beautiful house you ever saw.” 

“Oh!” cried Miss Proud Parrot, “that is 
just the sort of house I should like to live 
in! Let me go house hunting with you.” 

So Myko and Miss Proud Parrot started 
off together. They hurried on and on and 
on through the trees of the Great Woods. 
At last they came to Mr. Wise Owl, who 
was sleeping near the top of a tall tree. 
He woke up as they came hurrying by. 

“Hello, there!” he called. “Where are 
you two going so fast?” 

“We are going house hunting,” answered 
Myko with a grin. He was proud to have 
so much business on hand. 



“ What sort of house are you hunting for? ” 


















48 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“And what sort of house are you hunt¬ 
ing for?” asked Mr. Owl. 

“The most beautiful house you ever 
saw!” cried Miss Proud Parrot, not wait¬ 
ing for Myko to answer. “Can you tell 
me where to find it?” 

Mr. Owl scratched his head and thought 
a minute. 

“Why, yes,” he said, “I can tell you 
where to find it, but it is far, far away 
from the Great Woods.” 

“Oh, that doesn’t matter!” cried Miss 
Parrot. 

“Of course it doesn’t,” laughed Myko. 
“I think it would be fun to go away from 
the woods for a while.” 

“Then,” said Mr. Owl, “I will tell 
you how to find the most beautiful house 
you ever saw. Go first to the edge of this 
forest. There you will find the Muddy 
Stream. Cross that and you will find your¬ 
self on the Grassy Plain. Cross the Grassy 
Plain and you will find yourself on the 


THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT 


49 



Sandy Desert. Cross the Sandy Desert 
to the Beautiful Green Country. There 
you will find the City of Men. In the 
City of Men you will find, not one, but 
a great many of the most beautiful houses 
you ever saw. The wonderful thing about 
the City of Men is that the animals 
who live there have their food brought to 
their house every day. They don’t have to 
go out and hunt for it as we do.” 



50 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“Oh, wouldn’t that be lovely!” cried 
Miss Proud Parrot. “If I lived there, I 
could fluff my feathers all day long! Let 
us hurry, hurry, hurry!” 



So off she flew with Myko. On and on 
and on they went until they came to the 
edge of the Great Woods. There they saw 
a strange-looking box made of iron bars. 

“It’s a house!” cried Myko. “I know 
it’s a house!” 

“But it is not the most beautiful house 
I ever saw,” said the parrot. “Besides, we 




















THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT 51 

have not crossed the Muddy Stream or the 
Grassy Plain or the Sandy Desert or the 
Beautiful Green Country. We have not even 
seen the City of Men. So this can’t be the 
place Mr. Wise Owl meant.” 

“Never mind,” said Myko;* “it’s a house, 
anyway. The door is open, so I am going 
in” — and in he jumped. 

There on the floor he found bananas 
and oranges and nuts and some lovely 
round seed cakes. 

“Oh, it is just as Mr. Wise Owl said it 
would be!” he cried. “The house is full 
of food! Come on in.” 

But Miss Proud Parrot would not come. 

“I don’t want to live in a house like 
that,” she said. “It isn’t one bit pretty.” 

And she sat out in the sun and fluffed 
her feathers while she tried to think what 
to do next. 

“Well,” said Myko after a while, “if 
you don’t like the house, maybe you will 
like what is in it.” 


52 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


And he threw her a piece of seed cake. 

Miss Proud Parrot picked it up and ate 
it. It was so good that she wanted more. 

So she called to Myko, “Throw me 
some more, Myko. Throw me some more.” 

But the little monkey was too busy 
eating to throw her any more seed cakes. 
So, by and by, Miss Parrot flew in to get 
some for herself. The moment she was in¬ 
side slam / bang!! went the door. She and 
Myko were caught in the trap. Yes, the 
house was a trap, which the Great Hunter 
had set. Then the Great Hunter, and all 
the little hunters who had helped him, 
came out of the bushes where they had 
been hiding. They went home and took 
Myko and Miss Proud Parrot with them. 

They took them over the Muddy Stream, 
across the Grassy Plain, across the Sandy 
Desert, and through the Beautiful Green 
Country to the wonderful City of Men. 
When they reached the city, Myko and 
Miss Proud Parrot heard music. They sat 


THE MONKEY AND THE PARROT 53 

very still to listen, for they had never 
heard anything like it before. 

The music grew louder as they went on. 
By and by they came right up close to it. 
Yes, it was the circus band playing. The 



Great Hunter was taking them right to the 
circus. When they reached there, they found 
the Circus Man waiting for them. He was 
glad to see them. He took Myko right out 
of the trap and put him into a cage with 
three other monkeys for company. There he 
is still, living happily with his new friends. 








54 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


Miss Proud Parrot was put into a beau¬ 
tiful gold cage all by herself. Oh, how 
pleased she was! All day long she sits 
there now, fluffing her feathers in the sun. 
She thinks she has the most beautiful 
house in all the world. Ask her about it 
when you see her. Perhaps she will tell 
you how much she likes it, for she has 
learned to speak the language of men. If 
you happen to catch her at the right time, 
she will talk to you by the hour. 






SNOW, THE POLAR BEAR 

At the circus you will find a big white 
cage. In it is a big white bear whose name 
is Snow. He has not always lived there, 
for his old home was up among the ice and 
snow of the polar regions. 

One of the first things Snow can remem¬ 
ber is going fishing with his mother. They 
would climb down the steep mountains of 
ice and snow until they came to the water. 
Standing close to the edge of the ice, 
Mother Bear would wait until she saw a 
fish swimming by. Then, quick as a wink, 
she would drop her paw into the water and 
drag the fish out on the icy shore. Little 
Snow, who had been watching eagerly, would 
now jump forward. Then Mother Bear 
would show him how little bears should 
eat. 

Sometimes they caught a seal asleep and 
had that for dinner instead of fish. Once 


55 


56 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


in a while they found some bird’s eggs and 
ate them for dessert. 

Snow loved to roll and tumble and 
climb about on the ice. He loved to go 
swimming with his mother. He thought it 
great fun to catch hold of her stubby little 
tail and make her pull him through the 
water. Every time he did it she scolded 
him and shook him off. You see, she wanted 
him to learn to be a strong swimmer so 
that he could take care of himself. But of 
all the many things bears can do he liked 
fishing best. 

“Mother,” he said one day, “when are 
you going to let me fish?” 

“Just as soon as you are old enough I’ll 
teach you how to fish,” Mother Bear 
answered. 

“But I want to do it now,” cried Snow. 

“ It is wiser to wait,” said mother. 

But Snow did not want to wait. 

“ I don’t need to be taught,” he thought. 
“ I know how now. You just stand still 



They found some bird's eggs and ate them for dessert 










58 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


and wait until a fish comes swimming by. 
Then, quick as a wink, you put in your paw 
and snatch him.” 

When it was time for their afternoon 
nap, Snow curled up beside his mother. 
There he lay until he was sure she was 
fast asleep. At last he stood up very, 
very carefully, so as not to wake her. He 
took a few soft steps and looked around. 
Mother Bear was still fast asleep and did 
not notice him, so he trotted off toward the 
water. 

It was much farther than he had thought 
it would be, but after a while he came to 
the edge of the ice. There he stood very 
quietly, just as he had seen his mother do. 
He waited a long time, but not a single fish 
came by. 

At last he grew cross. 

“ I wish you’d hurry up,” he growled. 
“ I don’t like standing still.” 

The fish said never a word, but one of 
them peeked out to see what that funny 


SiVOJF, THE POLAR BEAR 


59 



little noise was. Snow saw him. Quick as 
a wink Snow put out his paw to catch the 
fish, but he did not know just how to do it. 
He leaned too far forward, lost his balance, 
and went head first into the cold, dark 
water. 

But that was not the worst of it. Not 
far away was a boat full of men. They 
were rowing toward him just as fast as they 
could row. Of course Snow could swim, 








60 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



but he couldn’t swim quite fast enough. 
Before long they caught him. They carried 
him to a great big ship. The next day the 
ship sailed off, taking him far, far away 
from the lovely, cold polar regions. 

After a long time they came to a big 
city where the captain of the ship lived. 
Here Snow was taken ashore and given to 
the Circus Man. 

The Circus Man put him in the big 
white cage, where you see him now. He 
took such good care of Snow that he grew 




















SNOW, THE POLAR BEAR 


61 


to be a great big bear. The Circus Man 
taught him to do tricks, too. 

Now every day when the people come 
to the circus, Snow sits in a chair and rings 
a bell. He walks around on his hind legs 
and bows to the ladies. He is proud of 
his tricks and likes to hear the people clap 
their hands. Yet he often thinks of his 
beautiful, cold, snowy home in the north. 



62 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


How he wishes he could go back and have 
more fun fishing with his mother ! 

He stands in his cage, slowly shaking 
his head at the crowd of children standing 
about. He would like to say if he knew 
how, “Little boys and girls, never, never, 
never run away from your mother and go 
fishing.” 


,o 


O 0 o 




THE SLEEPY SEAL 
“The Sleepy Seal’’! That is what every 
one calls him, for he was caught because 
he was such a sleepyhead. He has another 
name, though — Sam. You will see it painted 
in big letters on his tank. 

He used to live on the shores of Green¬ 
land. Greenland is not a bit like its name. 
It is a cold, snowy place and a great deal 
of its shore is always covered with ice. 
Sam and his mother and all their friends 
used to lie on the shore and sun themselves. 
All day long they lay asleep, unless a bear 
or a man happened along. When this hap¬ 
pened they would dive quickly into the 
water. There they would stay until the 
bear or the man went away again. 

Last year the seals had a pretty hard 
time of it. There seemed to be more bears 
and men around than ever before. Sam’s 
mother was worried, because whenever she 
63 


64 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



would wake him up and say, “Come, son, 
hurry! They are after us!” he would roll 
right over and go to sleep again. 

Then she would have the hardest sort 
of time to get him safely off the shore and 
into the water before the bear or man came 
upon them. 

One day some sailors hid behind the 
rocks and piled-up cakes of ice. Then, 









THE SLEEPY SEAL 


65 


before any one saw them, they crawled 
along until they were right up close to the 
seals. An old seal who was watching gave 
a warning bark. All the seals began to 
scurry for the water. That is, all but 
Sam — he was fast asleep. 

“Come, son!’’ cried Mrs. Seal. “Hurry, 
child, hurry ! They are here!” 

“All right, Mother,” said Sam. When 
he said that, it sounded as if he were wide 
awake. 

So his mother hurried off with the other 
seals and slid quickly into the water. 
You see, she thought her son was close 
behind her, but he wasn’t. He had rolled 
right over again and gone to sleep. 

The first thing he knew, one of the sail¬ 
ors had picked him up in his arms and was 
carrying him back to the boat. Sam wiggled 
and squirmed and barked and cried, but it 
was all of no use. The sailor had him fast 
and held on tight until they reached the 
great big ship. There they fed the sleepy 


5 



One of the sailors had picked Sam up in his arms 

































































THE SLEEPY SEAL 


67 


little seal and made him as comfortable as 
they could. 

By and by they had sailed back home 
to the City of Men. Here the sailor who had 
caught Sam sold him to the Circus Man. 
So there he is now at the circus. He still 
sleeps a good deal, but the circus people 
have grown fond of him. This is because 
he is one of the gentlest of the circus ani¬ 
mals. And he is very bright, too. He has 
already learned to dance. If you take your 
harmonica to the circus and play a lively 
dance tune beside his tank he will begin to 
dance, moving backward and forward, and 
sidewise. He does not dance as well as you 
can, perhaps, but still he dances. Some 
day when he grows a little older he is going 
to learn a great many more tricks, for the 
Circus Man is going to have a special 
teacher for him. 

Sam seems to like the circus pretty well 
and seldom complains. Of course he would 
have a great deal more fun if he were up 


68 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


on the shores of Greenland sunning himself 
and playing with his friends. You see, it 
does not pay to be a sleepyhead. Sam 
lost a lot that time by sleeping. And he 
still often misses good things because he 
will not wake up when the Circus Man 
calls him. 




THE CAMEL 

Once there was a black-nosed, woolly 
camel. His name was Abdul Bey. He and 
his master used to take long journeys 
together across the Sandy Desert. They 
carried dates and tea and silk to the people 


69 







70 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


who lived in the Far Country on the other 
side of the Desert. 

Abdul Bey thought that nothing in the 
world was quite so much fun as to tramp, 
tramp, tramp over the hot sand through the 
bright, sunny days. And then when night 
came it was pleasant to lie down.and sleep 
with the glittering, starry sky for his roof.. 

The Desert looks like a rolling ocean of 
sand. Sometimes as Abdul Bey and his 
master traveled along they would come to 
a fresh green spot in the yellow sand. It 
made you think of an island in the sea. 
Here there were trees and grass and a 
spring of water. How glad they would be 
to reach such a spot! They would rest in 
the shade and eat of their lunch and have 
a regular picnic. 

Well, one day Abdul Bey and his master 
were resting in one of these green, shady 
places. A great number of other camels and 
men came riding up. 



“ Come along with us and let the Sultan see your camel, too ” 






72 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“Have you heard the news?” cried the 
men. “The Sultan wants to buy a camel 



for his daughter to ride. It must be the 
very best camel that can be found, young 
and sound and gentle and not afraid of 
anything. The Sultan has ordered all the 
camels in the land to be brought to the 
city so that he may choose the one he likes 
best. You must come along with us and 
let him see your camel, too.” 


THE CAMEL 


73 



So Abdul Bey and his master went with 
the others to the Sultan’s city. There they 
found the Sultan sitting on his throne look¬ 
ing carefully at a long line of camels as 
they walked slowly past him. The Sultan 
was a little, round, fat man with a big 
yellow turban on his head and a wide red 
sash about his waist. He seemed to be 
very, very particular, for none of the camels 
pleased him. He frowned as the long line 
went walking slowly by. 






74 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


Abdul Bey trembled when it came his 
turn to pass before the sharp, beady black 
eyes of the Sultan. But he held his head 
high and tried to walk as softly as if he 
already were carrying the Princess on his 
back. 

When the Sultan saw him, he cried, 
“That is the finest camel I have seen yet! 
Bring him around to my park and we shall 
see if he is as good as he looks.” 

So Abdul Bey was taken to the park, 
and the Sultan did a great many things to 
find out how gentle he was. When he was 
sure Abdul Bey was gentle enough to be 
trusted with his daughter, the Sultan tried 
to find out how brave he was. He ordered 
his dogs to come and bark at the camel, 
but Abdul Bey did not mind that a bit. 
The Sultan gave orders that a gun be shot 
off right beside him, but Abdul Bey did 
not even wink an eye. He was not afraid 
of the dark. He was not afraid of anything 
they could think of. So they said he was 



Abdul Bey takes the Princess for a ride 












































76 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


the bravest camel in the world and the 
Sultan bought him. 

But all the time they were very much 
mistaken, for Abdul Bey was really the 



he was afraid of? He was afraid of being 
laughed at! And the very next day, when 
he took the Princess out for the first time, 
some one laughed at him. 




THE CAMEL 


77 


The Princess sat on his back under a 
canopy of silk. On her arms and on her 
ankles were bracelets of gold and she waved 
a fan of bright-colored feathers. Silken 
scarfs and bright ribbons floated about 
Abdul Bey as he walked. On his fine new 
harness tinkled little silver bells. The 
streets were crowded with people who had 
come to watch them pass. Abdul Bey felt 
so proud that, had he known how, he would 
have sung for joy. 

“How much better this is than carrying 
dates and tea and silk on my back ! What 
a lucky camel I am!” he thought as he 
carried the Princess carefully down the 
street. 

But scarcely had the thought entered 
his head when who should come along but 
the elephant called Tease. Everyone who 
knew him could see by the gleam in his eye 
that he meant mischief. 

Abdul Bey never gave him so much 
as a glance. He went right on his way, 


78 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


carrying the Princess carefully down the 
street. 

Tease waited until Abdul Bey came up 
close to him. Then he lifted his trunk. 



which was full of a horrible, white, sticky 
paste, and blew it right into the camel’s 
face and all over his long neck. But he 
never touched the Princess. He knew better 
than to do that. 


THE CAMEL 


79 


For a minute Abdul Bey did not know 
what had happened. Then he saw the 
white paste running down his black nose. 
He heard all the people laugh and shout, 
“Oh, doesn’t Abdul Bey look funny!” 

When Abdul Bey heard that, he forgot 
about the Princess on his back. He forgot 
about the beautiful silken scarfs and ribbons. 
He forgot about everything except that he 
was afraid of being laughed at and he began 
to run. Right down the street he ran and 
out to the Sandy Desert. 

“Stop him! Stop him!” shouted the 
people. 

But Abdul Bey ran so fast that nobody 
could. 

“Catch him! Catch him!” cried the 
people. 

But before anybody could get well 
started Abdul Bey was out of sight. Faster 
and faster he ran, on and on and on over 
the rolling desert of sand. His feet seemed 
scarcely to touch the ground. The city and 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


its people were left far, far behind. But he 
kept right on running because he was afraid 
some one might see him again. He was 
afraid of being laughed at! 

After a long, long time he had run him¬ 
self all out of breath. It was almost even¬ 
ing. At last he reached one of those beautiful 
fresh green spots in the desert where there 
are trees and a spring of water. Abdul 
Bey stopped to take a drink. After he had 
had his drink he thought about the Princess 
and looked around. 

Now, what do you suppose had hap¬ 
pened? The Princess and the canopy and 
everything else that had been on his back 
were gone! 

“Why, where in the world — ” he began, 
but he got no farther. 

The Great Hunter, who is always in the 
right place at the right time, stepped up 
and said, “Camel, where is your master?” 

The camel answered never a word, for 
he had run so far away that he did know 


THE CAMEL 


81 


where his master was. To this day he has 
never been able to find him. That is why 



the Great Hunter took Abdul Bey to the 
Circus Man, and he has lived at the circus 
ever since. 

It was too bad to lose such a beautiful 
home near the wonderful Sandy Desert 
which he loved so well. He lost it just 
because he was afraid of being laughed 
at. It was even worse to lose the lovely 
Princess. By the way, if you could tell 


6 


82 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


Abdul Bey what became of the Princess, the 
canopy, and all the rest of the things that 
were on his back that day when he ran 
away, it would be a great comfort to him. 
For he often spends whole hours wondering 
about it. 




FRITZ, THE LITTLE TRAMP DOG 

Fritz was a little black and white dog 
who had no home. Sometimes he slept in 
an old tumble-down barn, and sometimes 
he slept out on the hard ground. Yet, he 
was a good-natured, playful little fellow. 
He had one true friend who loved him 
dearly. This friend was the postman. Every 
day Fritz would watch for him on the 
street corner near the old barn. Then, when 
the man came, Fritz would dance around 
him and bark a glad “Good morning!” 

It was the postman who gave Fritz his 
name and taught him to do tricks. Fritz 
learned to sit up and beg and to jump over 
a cane. If any one dropped anything, Fritz 
would pick it up and bring it back to him 
at once. 

He liked to do these things. He liked 
to roam about town begging for his meals 
at kitchen doors. He also liked to watch 

83 


84 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



people at their work. Fritz would have 
been quite a happy dog had it not been for 
one thing. The dog catchers were always 
looking for stray dogs. 

At first when they tried to catch Fritz, 
he thought it was a game like hide-and- 
seek. But he soon found out that they 
were not playing. When they caught Fritz, 
the dog catchers meant to put him in a 







FRITZ, THE LITTLE TRAMP DOG 85 

place called The Pound. The dog grew very 
tired of being chased like this. For by and 
by the dog catchers learned all his favorite 
hiding places, and he found it hard to keep, 
out of their way. 

One day early in the morning the dog 
catchers began the chase. They came to 
the old barn and waked Fritz out of a 
sound sleep. Off he started down the street. 
He dodged behind trees and bushes, he 
jumped over fences, and he hid under porch 
steps and in dark corners. But every time 
they found him. Twice they almost caught 
him. 

It was a long, hard chase, but at last, 
when he was just about ready to give up, 
he turned a corner and saw the postman 
coming. 

Running up to him, Fritz barked and 
said, just as plainly as a dog can, “You 
will save me, won’t you?’’ 

“Of course I will,” said the postman. 
He picked up the little dog and put him in 


86 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


his letter bag. The next moment when the 
dog catchers came around the corner they 
couldn’t find Fritz anywhere, though they 
looked and looked. So for a little while 
he was safe. 

But the postman couldn’t keep him in 
his bag, and he couldn’t take him home 
with him either, for he lived in a boarding 
house where no dogs were allowed. As the 
postman walked down the street he wished 
very much that he could find some kind 
master who would take good care of the 
little fellow. 

Just as he was wishing this along came 
a circus parade. Flags were flying, music 
was playing, and horses were prancing. 
There were lots of wonderful animals in 
great big cages. 

Of course the postman stood still to 
watch. Fritz wanted to see what was going 
on, too. He peeked out of the letter bag 
and saw the circus men and ladies ride by. 
They were dressed in beautiful spangled 



Fritz peeked out of the letter bag and saw the circus men and ladies ride by 

















88 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


suits. One of the men carried a bright 
green parrot on his shoulder. Every time 



the music stopped playing, the parrot would 
call, “Oh, come to the circus! Come on! 
Come on!” 


At the end of the parade was a great 
big elephant. Behind him, riding in a queer 
little cart drawn by a tiny mule, Fritz 
saw the clown. As the clown rode along 
he threw papers to the crowd which told 
all about the circus. 


FRITZ, THE LITTLE TRAMP DOG 89 

Now Fritz did not know that the clown 
meant to throw the papers out. He thought 
that he was dropping them. So out of the 
bag he scrambled and ran down the street. 
He picked up the first paper he could find 
and ran after the clown to give it to him. 
Fritz jumped right into the queer little 
cart and dropped the paper at the clown’s 
feet. 

“Good dog!” cried the clown, patting 
him kindly. Then he looked over the crowd 
for Fritz’s master. 

The postman stepped forward. 

“Do you own this little dog?” asked 
the clown. “If you do, I’d like to buy 
him.” 

The postman shook his head. “No,” he 
said, “ I do not own him, but he is a friend 
of mine. I’d like to find a good master 
for him.” 

“ I’ll be good to him if he will come 
with me,” said the clown. “Will you come, 
little dog?” 


90 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


Fritz wagged his tail and barked as if 
to say, “Yes, I’ll be glad to.” So the 
postman patted Fritz good-by. Then off he 
rode in the cart with the clown and joined 
the circus parade. 

The next year when the circus came to 
town Fritz came back with it. When the 
postman went to the circus, there in the 
ring with the clown he saw Fritz. When 
the clown stood on his head, Fritz stood on 
his head right beside him. When the clown 
jumped through a paper ring, Fritz followed 
close at his heels. He had learned a great 
many tricks in the circus. Everyone thought 
him a bright dog. The postman could hardly 
make his friends believe that this was the 
same little tramp dog who used to run 
about town. 

When the circus was over, the postman 
went to the clown’s tent. There he saw 
Fritz. The little fellow knew him and was 
glad to see him. He jumped up on him 
and barked a happy “How do you do?” 


FRITZ, THE LITTLE TRAMP DOG 91 

But Fritz did not want to leave the circus 
and go back to the old tumble-down barn. 
Nor did the postman want him to, for he 
knows that Fritz now sleeps on a soft rug 
beside the clown’s bed. Fritz eats from a 
dish of his own. He is just the happiest 
little circus dog in world. 





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“ TFfow / grow; up” Toro said to himself, “ I suppose I shall 

have to roll logs too” 
























TORO, THE ELEPHANT 

Toro, the little elephant, stood watching 
his mother and his father and his grand¬ 
father. They were rolling long, heavy logs 
over the ground, then stacking them up in 
high piles. Every day they went to the 
edge of the Great Woods to work with the 
logs. They always took Toro with them. 
Usually he liked it there in the shade of 
the big trees. He had a good time running 
about and playing with the sticks and stones 
and leaves. But today he just stood and 
watched the others work. 

“When I grow up,” he said to himself, 
“ I suppose I shall have to roll logs too, 
and I don’t want to. I don’t want to work 
at all. I’d like to play all the time. So 
I’m going to—yes, I’m just going to run 
away.” 

And so, when no one was looking, off 
he started, over the plains and through the 
93 


94 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


woods. By and by, after he had run a long, 
long time, he grew very hungry. Toro 
looked about for something to eat. Pretty 
soon he found a bush full of large, ripe 
berries. 

“Ah!” said Toro, “these look good! 
They are just what I’d like to have for 
dinner.” 

He reached out his trunk to pick one, but 
before he could touch it a whole flock of 
birds settled down on the bush. 

“We save these berries for working 
folk—there isn’t a one for you!” they cried. 
“There isn’t a one for you!” 

“But,” said Toro, “I am very, very 
hungry.” 

“Perhaps you are,” replied the birds, 
“but no one can eat these berries until he 
has done some work in the world.” 

Little Toro tossed his trunk. “Well, I’m 
not going to work for them,” he said. “ I 
shall find some more berries.” And he 
started off again. 


TORO, THE ELEPHANT 


95 



He didn’t see any more berries, but by 
and by he came to a tree full of beautiful 
golden oranges. 

“Ah!” he said, “these look good! They 
are just what I’d like for dinner.” He 
reached out his trunk to pick one, but 
before he could touch it, up jumped a 
troop of monkeys. 

“We save this fruit for working folk — 
there isn’t a one for you!” they cried. 
“There isn’t a one for you!” 



96 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“But,” said Toro, “I am very, very 
hungry.” 

“ Perhaps you are,” answered the monkeys, 
“but no one can eat these oranges until he 
has done some work in the world.” 

Little Toro tossed his trunk and said, 
“Well, I’m not going to work for them. I 
shall find some more oranges.” And he 
started off again. 

He did not see any more oranges, but 
by and by he came to a tall plant full of 
beautiful ripe bananas. 

“Ah!” he said, “these look good! They 
are just what I’d like for dinner.” Then 
he reached out his trunk to pick one, but 
before he could touch it a great many 
chattering squirrels came jumping out of 
the banana plant. 

“We save this fruit for working folk — 
there isn’t a one for you!” they cried. 
“There isn’t a one for you!” 

“But I’m nearly starved!” cried little 
Toro. 


TORO , THE ELEPHANT 97 



has done some work in the world.” 

“ Dear me 1 ! ” sighed Toro. “ I don’t know 
what I am going to do ! No one will give 
me anything to eat.” 

‘‘Why don’t you go to work?” said the 
squirrels. 

But Toro turned away. He did not want 
to work. 


7 


98 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



“Perhaps I shall find more bananas,” 
he said to himself. He went a long, long 
way, but he saw nothing more to eat. 
Finally he found himself in a desert. Here 
for miles and miles there was nothing but 
rocks and sand, and then he knew that he 
was lost. He looked toward the north, he 
looked toward the south, he looked toward 
the east and toward the west. But he could 
see nothing that looked like home. 

“I’m hungry, and I’m sleepy, and I’m 
thirsty, too,” he cried. “I’m as lost as I 



TORO, THE ELEPHANT 


99 


can be. Oh! how gladly now I would 
work if some one would come and find me?” 

Just then the Great Hunter slid down 
from a high rock where he had been sitting. 
He found the little elephant. He could not 
take Toro back to his mother because he 
did not know where she lived. But he said 
that if Toro were willing to work for his 
board he would find the little elephant a 
good place to live. 

“ I’ll do anything you tell me if you 
will only find me a home,” said Toro. He 
did not like being lost a bit. 

“Very well, then,” said the hunter. “I 
will take you to the Circus Man. He will 
be glad to keep you if you will march in 
the circus parades. When you grow bigger, 
you can do a great many other things to 
help him.” 

“I will,” promised Toro. “I will help 
him all I can.” 

So the little elephant joined the circus. 
That was a long, long time ago. Now he 


100 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 



has grown to be a big and wise elephant. 
He helps the Circus Man in many ways. 
He always marches in the parades. He lets 
the Circus Man ride on his back in the cir¬ 
cus ring. 

Often, too, he lifts heavy things. When 
any of the large moving wagons are going 
up a steep hill or over a bad road, he 
helps them along by pushing. 










TORO, THE ELEPHANT 101 

Now he says he likes to work. Some¬ 
times when the other animals do not want 
to do their tricks, he will go to them and 
say, “Children, everyone has his work to 
do in the world. You will save yourselves 
a lot of trouble if you go ahead and do it 
cheerfully.’’ 






“Mother ” did you ever look over the Long Low Hills?” 

















THE BABY GIRAFFE 

One day while Mother Giraffe ate her 
breakfast from the top of a mimosa tree, 
the baby giraffe stood close beside her. 
Every now and then his mother would give 
him a tender twig, for he was fond of 
mimosa twigs. 

A short distance away Father and Uncle 
and Auntie and Cousin Giraffe were eating 
their breakfasts from the tops of other 
trees. 

It was really wonderful to see how far 
they could stretch their long necks to reach 
a juicy bunch of leaves. But the baby 
giraffe was not watching them. He was 
looking far off to the left toward the Long 
Low Hills. 

He had eaten his last mimosa twig. 
“Mother,” he said, “did you ever look over 
the Long Low Hills?” 

“Yes,” said his mother, “I did.” 

103 


104 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


“And what did you see there?” asked 
the baby giraffe. 

“Men,” his mother answered. 



“Men!” cried the baby giraffe, pricking 
up his little pointed ears. “ What are men ? ” 
“Men are strange creatures who walk 
on their hind legs,” said his mother. “But 
come, your father is calling us and we 
must go.” 

So the baby giraffe trotted off after his 
mother. His mother trotted after his father, 



THE BABY GIRAFFE 


105 


and Uncle and Auntie and Cousin Giraffe 
trotted off side by side. 

Pretty soon they came to an old gray 
buzzard standing on a tall, dry stump. 
He was flapping his wings and screaming 
at the top of his voice, “ I want my dinner! 
I want my dinner! I want my dinner!” 

Of course it was nowhere near dinner 
time, but that made no difference with Mr. 
Buzzard. He kept right on screaming until 
the baby giraffe came, not very near but 
near enough to speak to him. Then the 
buzzard stopped to hear what the little 
fellow was saying. 

“Good morning, sir,” said the baby 
giraffe, ‘‘are you a man?” 

‘‘A man!” screamed Mr. Buzzard, fly¬ 
ing up with a great big flap of his wings. 
‘‘No, indeed, I’m not a man! Did you 
ever see a man fly as I can fly ? ” 

‘‘No, I never did,” said the baby giraffe. 
‘‘But, then, I have never seen a man at all.” 

Before he could say another word, Mr. 


106 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


Buzzard was far, far away. So the baby 
giraffe trotted on again after his mother. 

Pretty soon they came to a bird of 
paradise sitting in a tree preening his 
beautiful feathers. 

“Good morning,” said the baby giraffe, 
stopping just near enough to speak to the 
bird. “Will you please tell me if you are 
a man ? ” 

“A man!” cried the bird of paradise 
sharply. “No, indeed, I’m not a man! 
Did you ever see a man with such wonder¬ 
ful feathers as I have ? ” 

“No, I never did,” said the baby giraffe. 
“But, then, I never have seen a man at all.” 

Before he could say another word, the 
bird was preening his feathers again. He 
seemed so very busy that the baby giraffe 
thought it best not to trouble him. So he 
trotted on again after his mother. 

Soon they came to a great big boa con¬ 
strictor, lying curled up on a big flat rock, 
sleeping in the sun. 


THE BABY GIRAFFE 


107 


“Good morning, sir,” said the baby 
giraffe. 

“Oh, good morning,” said Mr. Boa 
Constrictor, lifting his head and opening 
one eye. “Why, how are you?” 



“I am very well, thank you,” answered 
the baby giraffe politely. 

Mr. Boa Constrictor slowly uncurled 
himself and stretched out in the sun. 
“Anything I can do for you?” asked he. 

“N-no,” said the baby giraffe, “I think 
not. I should like to see a man, but I 




108 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


know you are n’t one. You don’t stand on 
your hind legs.” 

“You are quite right,” said the big 
snake. “ I’m not a man, and I don’t stand 
on my hind legs because —I have no legs.” 



And then he laughed, for he thought he 
had made a joke. 

“But,” he went on, “if I had four legs 
and were as curious as you are, I should 
trot to the top of the Long Low Hills. 
There I should look over and see all the 
men I wanted to.” 










THE BABY GIRAFFE 


109 


“That is a good idea!” cried the baby 
giraffe. “Thank you for telling me of it. 
I shall go at once.” 

And this time, instead of trotting off 
after his mother, he trotted off to the Long 
Low Hills. Right up the hillside he trotted. 
He looked over the top of it and down on 
the other side. 

There were lots of lovely green trees 
there just waiting to be nibbled. At the 
foot of the hill lay a shining lake. But 
no men were in sight. Before looking any 
farther, the baby giraffe thought he would 
get a drink. So he trotted down to the 
lake shore. He spread his long front legs 
far, far apart, because that is the way a 
giraffe has to do when he wants to reach 
down. Then he stretched his long neck 
down between his legs and put his nose in 
the sweet, fresh water and took a long 
drink. 

He drank and he drank until he couldn’t 
hold another drop. Then he looked up and 


110 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


there, close beside him, stood the Great 
Hunter. As soon as the baby giraffe saw 
him he knew that this was a man. He 
wanted to run, but before he could get 
started the Great Hunter caught him. 

“Oh-h!” cried the baby giraffe. “What 
is going to happen to me now?” 

“I can’t tell yet,” answered the hunter. 
“ First I must take you home to my wife. 
I have always wanted a giraffe for a pet. 
If she says so, I am going to keep you for 
my own.” 

But the moment the hunter’s wife saw 
the giraffe she cried, “Mercy on us! What 
are you bringing home now ? Why, you 
couldn’t begin to get that long neck 
through the barn doorway! And you 
haven’t a cage to fit him ! You’ll have to 
take him to the Circus Man. That is the 
only thing to do, for he has a place for 
all sorts of animals and is good to them.” 

“You are quite right,” said the Great 
Hunter. “I’m ever so sorry to part with 


THE BABY GIRAFFE 


111 



him, but since we have no place that will 
fit him, of course he’ll have to go.” 

So the Great Hunter led the baby giraffe 
away to the circus. Every day now the 
baby giraffe can see all the men he wants 
to. But he is not nearly so curious about 
them as he used to be. 

His place in the circus is right beside 
the camel. He is a quiet, well-behaved 
young giraffe and is growing up nicely. 







112 


CIRCUS ANIMALS 


But he often thinks of the mimosa trees at 
home. He longs to taste them again. So, 
sometime when you go to the circus, if you 
could possibly take him a few mimosa 
leaves he would be ever so grateful. 









































































































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